When I moved back to Washington from Eugene, I opened a post office box first thing, much to my parents' surprise. At first, the volume of mail being forwarded was quite substantial, especially considering the school-related correspondence, and I knew better than to clog Mom and Dad's too tiny box with all that. Besides, the post office only gives out two keys per box, and I was not about to forward my mail someplace where I couldn't access it directly.

Now that I've graduated my volume of mail has decreased down to less than a dribble – not that I received that much to begin with. Once my post-Eugene status finally cemented itself and I paid off the remainder of my bills, the mail literally cut in half. I went from checking the box every other day to once a week. Other than Evergreen and local stuff, all I seem to get is solicitations, aka junk mail.

And it's not even good junk mail. Granted, when I was living in Eugene, I would've appreciated Costco – though I rarely used them – and ValuPak coupons, versus the continuous crap from Comcast and Qwest that accompanied the nonstop telemarketing. But the Ben & Jerry's coupons, man, I miss those!

However, REAL mail – letters, cards, correspondence from a living entity – seems to elude me. My one exception was my stack of graduation cards, but that, of course, was a one time occurrence. I doubt I'll be that popular again during my twenties, unless I fumble and manage to get married.

Nowadays though, I still try to check my box once a week, though if I go longer, it doesn't seem to matter much. Since I've graduated, I hardly have any mail at all, and my mother is wondering whether I'm going to renew my rental. I probably will, especially since I'm still unemployed and might end up working in Olympia. But who knows? If I somehow end up in sunny California, I can use it to send my plans for what I'll do to my next unsuspecting victims.

Just kidding. But the thought might make me popular . . . in some sense. Or not. Then again, who's gonna dispute and find out? Yeah, I thought so.

See you at the post office . . . maybe.

Copyright © 2004, Talia M. Wilson
posted: Sept. 7, 2004

You're visitor # since Sept. 7, 2004.